Weaverville – A bill in the North Carolina Senate could make any attempt by the Weaverville Town Council to limit whole-house short-term rentals (STR) an ineffective effort. It could also end STR bans in other North Carolina towns and cities like Asheville.
Republican State Senator Tim Mofftt District 48 (Henderson, Polk, Rutherford) has filed a bill (SB 667) in the state legislature that would prohibit “…cities from adopting or enforcing ordinances, rules, or regulations that: prohibit the use of residential property as a short-term rental; prohibit the use of accessory dwelling units as short-term rentals; limit the number of nights a property can be rented as a short-term rental; require the owner of the short-term rental to occupy the property for any period of time during a rental to an occupant; classify short-term rentals as a commercial use; or limit the operation of a short-term rental marketplace.”
At last month’s town workshop, Weaverville Councilwoman Michele Wood said, “We’re really concerned with the whole house [STRs].” Wood explained that this issue was brought up because neighbors noticed changes in their neighborhood. “The time is right” for the regulation of STRs. Wood told the council. During the discussion, the mayor and two other council members showed a favorable attitude toward Wood’s comments. Three other council members responded colder to her proposal to ban or limit whole-house STRs. The matter was sent to Weaverville’s planning board for study.
The bill defines a short-term rental as all of the following “that are offered to the public for a fee and for 90 days or less: an individually or collectively owned single-family house or dwelling unit; a unit in a condominium, timeshare, townhome, or accessory dwelling unit; and an owner-occupied residential home.”
Council members respond to Moffitt’s bill
Asked if she knew about Moffitt’s bill, Wood said, “Senator Moffitt’s bill does not address the adverse effect short-term rentals have on neighborhoods. In Weaverville town limits, we currently have at least 58 whole-house short-term rentals that prevent real families from living in our neighborhoods, in an already too small and too expensive housing stock. And Airbnb has a full-time lobbyist in Raleigh working to get this bill passed. So whose interests are being served with this bill? Certainly not the neighborhoods in our town. I fully intend to continue pursuing regulating whole-house short-term rentals because this is what my neighbors in residential downtown Weaverville are requesting.”
When asked about his thoughts on the bill, Weaverville Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons said, “I expect we will continue to research and gather public input on this issue. No specific proposal on restrictions has yet been made. This bill may or may not pass. This is yet another example of our General Assembly’s expansive government policies designed to restrict what municipalities can do. If only they would practice the small government they claim to support.”
Councilman Andrew Nagle, which was against Wood’s proposal in last month’s workshop, said about the bill, “Very much in favor of it.” Councilman Jeff McKenna said, “I just returned from vacation and haven’t read it through in detail yet. In any case, I’ll defer to our town attorney to advise on how this affects us on a local level.” The Tribune did not hear from any other council members as of press time.
Bill would give towns some rule-making for STRs
The bill would allow “…a city to adopt an ordinance, rule, or regulation that regulates short-term rentals by: requiring a lodging operator to obtain a permit to operate a short-term rental within the city’s corporate limits and allows revocation of the permit for specified reason, and allows charging a permit fee; as part of the lodging operator permitting process, limiting the number of occupants allowed to stay in a short-term rental; as part of the lodging operator permitting process, restricting the number of occupant vehicles to one per bedroom; restricting the location of short-term rentals to areas of the city zoned for residential use, and requiring that the property remains in compliance with residential zoning requirements; [along with] requiring that short-term rentals comply with all applicable city ordinances and codes, including building codes and housing codes.”
The bill would also allow towns to require “…that all contracts for short-term rentals include a copy of any city ordinances regulating noise, waste removal, and parking or, in the alternative, that the lodging operator provides to the occupants a written summary of those ordinances; prohibiting the use of STRs for any purpose other than that which is allowed in hotels, motels, and inns without the property owner’s prior approval; or requiring a lodging operator or authorized agent of a lodging operator be within a 50-mile radius of an STR during the time that an occupant is staying in STR.”
The Tribune contacted Moffitt about his bill, but he did not respond as of press time. As of the filing of this article, the bill had passed its first reading and was referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate.